


No Matter Which Way You Stay

by meeda



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blow Jobs, F/M, Ghosts, Improper Use of Ouija Board, Masturbation, One Shot, Oral Sex, Praise Kink, Voyeurism, amilyn owns a witchy shop and we should all stan, rey is a pervy ghost, some plot points inspired by just like heaven, witchy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 11:33:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19250362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meeda/pseuds/meeda
Summary: Something is weird about Ben’s new apartment. It’s haunted. After a misguided experience with a Ouija board, he’s now coming face-to-face with his supernatural roommate: Rey.





	No Matter Which Way You Stay

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Angelic_Hellraiser](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelic_Hellraiser/gifts).



> Inspired by Adam Driver's interest in Ouija boards in a The Dead Don't Die interview and a fantastic prompt from Angelic_Hellraiser. 
> 
> No matter which way you go,  
> No matter which way you stay,  
> You’re out of my mind, out of my mind,  
> out of my mind, out of my mind  
> I was walking with a ghost…  
> \- Tegan & Sara, I Was Walking With A Ghost

Three weeks after Ben moved into his new apartment, _things_ started to happen.

One night, he opened his bedroom window to let the summer breeze cool down the room as he slept, only to find it closed when he woke up. A few days later, he was taking a shower and his skin began to prickle. He couldn’t shake the feeling he was being watched. As the water continued to beat against his body and the tiles, Ben slowly reached out towards the edge of the shower curtain. Throwing it back violently, he was greeted with the sight of his empty bathroom.

Ben tried to convince himself it was a lack of sleep causing his overactive imagination to kick back into high gear. His mother used to tell him he was prone to nightmares as a kid. Maybe the stress from his sudden breakup with Bazine and the move out of their shared apartment trudged up old fears he hadn’t worked through yet in therapy. The whole abandonment issue thing might be causing him to fancy himself in danger now that he was living on his own again.

Last night, however, made him question everything. It was late; he was lonely. So, he did what any grown man in his position would do: he decided to watch porn and jerk off. He settled on a video of a petite brunette touching herself. Walking in on his girlfriend being fucked by his best friend had really put Ben off watching videos with couples. With one hand, he worked down his boxers as he spit into the other. Ben took himself in his hand and began slow, steady strokes. The only sound in the room was his heavy breathing and the porn star getting herself off.  As her little whimpers brought him closer to the edge, he began to feel that skin-prickling sensation from the shower again. He was hard-pressed to care if someone was watching him now, not when he was so close.

_BANG!_

Ben jumped out of his skin as his lacrosse championship trophy fell off his dresser and crashed to the floor. A second later, the chair next to his dresser screeched across the hardwood until it hit the floor lamp in the corner -- making the lamp wobble from side-to-side until it, too, fell to the floor. He had certainly not imagined that! His hard-on had gone down from the scare, which gave him a clear-enough head to process what had happened. For Ben, there was only one answer: his apartment was fucking haunted.

* * *

That’s how Ben found himself inside a metaphysical shop downtown. He needed a way to get rid of the pervy poltergeist currently living rent-free in his apartment. His eyes scanned the bookshelves for books on exorcisms when a lanky woman with a knowing smile approached him. Her hair was styled in purple waves while her neck and wrists were adorned with gold jewelry.

“Hello, my name is Amilyn. Welcome to The Force. Looking for anything in particular?”

Ben scratched the back of his neck. “Uh...yeah. You see, I think my apartment might be haunted. I need a way to get rid of the ghost.” He felt silly saying it out loud to another person. Luckily, Amilyn nodded at his request like it was something she heard ten times a day. She crossed her arms across her chest, bracelets tinkling from the movement, and leaned her shoulder against the bookshelf.

“Have you tried talking to them? In my experience, just asking nicely does the trick.”

His brows knit in confusion. “H-how exactly would I talk to it?”

Amilyn’s eyes twinkled as she started to walk past him. With a small gesture of her hand she said, “Here, come with me.”

She walked to the other end of the store to a shelf filled with various items that were foreign to Ben. After pulling a long, flat box off the shelf and blowing off the dust that had settled on top of the lid, Amilyn handed it over to him. Ben looked down at the vintage board game now resting in his hands.

“A Ouija board?” Ben huffed. He needed a real solution. Not some game middle-school girls play at sleepovers after watching The Craft.

“These things can be very powerful when it comes to contacting spirits on our side of the veil. Ouija boards have strong connections to the spiritual world and _this one_ in particular has quite the history. No matter how many times I’ve sold it throughout the years, it always makes it way back to me. You interested?” She drummed her fingers against the lid of the box and smiled wide.

Ben worked his jaw as he mulled it over. He was still a little skeptical, but it was worth a shot. He nodded and said, “Yeah, okay, I’ll take it. But, I’ve never used one of these things before. Does it come with instructions?”

Amilyn shook her head. “Well, this one is very old and the instructions got lost with time, but I can write down some tips for you. Come on, I’ll ring you up.” She walked over to the register and punched in some numbers before giving him the total. After he paid, she began to scribble down on a piece of receipt paper. “Now, these are just some things to keep in mind. There isn’t really an exact science to the metaphysical. Best to go by gut instincts. If something feels off after you cast your circle and open the board, stop what you’re doing and close the circle.”

Ben stared blankly at her as she handed him the bag and instructions. Amilyn chuckled, “It’s all on the paper. Bye, bye now and best of luck with your spiritual squatter!”

* * *

Ben was back in his apartment ready to conduct the seance of a lifetime. He held the piece of paper Amilyn had scribbled on as he prepared for what was to come. He read the instructions out loud as he set up.

“Let’s see, here. Number One: Set the mood. Candlelight only, no distracting background noises.” Surely his apartment was at risk of burning down given the amount of candles he had just lit. The TV was turned off so the only sound was the low hum of the city outside. Ben placed the board on his coffee table and placed a few lit candles around it.

“Number Two: Do not use the board alone.” _Shit!_ The only person he would’ve called to help him out was Hux. But, the last time he saw his best friend, Hux was balls deep in Bazine. So, that ruled him out. He couldn’t call Phasma, she would never let him live this down. Ben would just have to do this on his own. Amilyn had said it wasn’t an exact science. He’d be fine, right?

“Number Three: Cast a circle of protection around your area using kosher salt.” He lightly shook out the salt in a circle surrounding his small living room, making sure he was inside the circle as he poured. That was going to be a bitch to clean up later.

“Number Four: Open the board to communicate with the spirits. Say these words as you make three circles counterclockwise with the planchette on the board.” Ben sat down on the couch and leaned over the wooden slab. He grabbed the plastic, teardrop-shaped planchette and placed it in the middle of the board. As he pushed it lightly in a circle, he read the words Amilyn had written. “I ask for a protective shield against malevolent spirits and negative energies. Allow only those beings of the Light to enter when invited in this sacred space.” _Well, it’s showtime._

“Number Five: Place fingertips on planchette and begin asking questions.” Ben sighed and put down the paper next to him on the couch cushion. He rested his fingers against the pointer and took a deep breath.

“Hello? Is there a spirit with me now?”

His fingers remained still. The planchette didn’t move. Ben felt idiotic.

Suddenly, he felt a small tug underneath the pads of his fingertips. It was so light that he wondered if he had imagined it. He asked again.

“My name is Ben. If there is a spirit with me now, tell me your name.” There was a faint movement from the pointer forward and then back, as if it was hesitating. “Please.”

Apparently, that really was the magic word because, as soon as it left his mouth, the planchette began to move up towards the letters on the board. Ben’s heart raced and blood was pounding in his ears. The room felt like it was full of electricity or, maybe, that was just his adrenaline from talking to a real, honest-to-god ghost! Ben’s eyes scanned the board furiously as the name was slowly spelled out.

“R...E...Y.”

He sucked in a breath, realizing he had been holding it in the whole time. A small sheen of sweat was breaking out over his brow. “Hello, Rey. Are you the one who’s been watching me shower?”

The pointer moved slowly to the top left corner of the board over the word “YES.” A quick, nervous laugh escaped Ben’s lips. “Did you like what you saw?” What the hell was he doing? He was supposed to be asking this Rey person (thing?) to leave and instead he’s... _flirting_. Twitching lightly, the planchette traced a small circle before settling back over the “YES.” Ben tugged on his collar. He was so engrossed in his task that he didn’t notice the wind howling outside of his windows.

“How old are you?” Leave it to Ben Solo to accidentally flirt with an underaged ghost girl.

“1...9.” The wind picked up outside and, this time, Ben did notice. He didn’t remember there being a storm warning for tonight. Ben was in deep now and wanted to learn more about Rey.

“How did you die?” The planchette began to vibrate and feel warm. Before it could move and reveal how this Rey met their demise, his window flew open. His hair began blowing around his face and the paper sitting on the couch flew off somewhere onto the floor. The entire room went dark as the wind doused all the candles. “Fuck!” He sprang up and stumbled across the room to close the window. Ben had to struggle with it, but it finally came down with a loud THUNK!

The whole damn apartment was pitch black when he turned around. He cautiously walked back to the couch, trying not to stub his toes on the furniture he passed. Ben grabbed the matches off the coffee table. With a small curse muttered under his breath, he struck the match against the matchbox. When the small stick was illuminated, Ben could finally see the Ouija board sitting right where he left it. To his right however, Ben saw something else: a girl sitting on his couch, her legs tucked and crossed over each other, and she was staring _straight at him_.

* * *

The scream that left Ben’s body could rival any David Lynch leading lady. It was guttural and high-pitched and left his throat feeling sore. Deep in the back of his mind he was thankful that he didn’t call Phasma to come over. She would’ve somehow managed to record that scream and share it in an email thread to everyone at their company. A small part of him it was just him and this...fucking ghost girl. He was still mid-yell as he took in her appearance.

Shoulder-length brunette hair and tan skin dusted with freckles. She was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. Green eyes filled with fear. Her mouth was wide open and...wait...was she screaming too? Ben willed himself to stop screaming and move on to talk-screaming.

“Who the hell are you?! What are you doing in my apartment?!”

She was breathing raggedly and continued to stare at him. “You...can see me now?”

Ben ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I can see you! Where the fuck did you come from? How did you get into my place?”

Her eyes narrowed at him. “First of all, it’s _my_ place. I’ve always been here. You just haven’t been able to see or hear me...until now, I guess. Your bloody Ouija board must’ve done it.”

Ben was making a mental note to ask his therapist about this. He must be more far gone over Baz than he originally thought. He stood up and started pacing the living room. “Oh, god. I’m so lonely, I’m pretending to talk to a dead girl. One for the books, Solo.”

“Hey! I’m not dead. I’m just stuck.”

“Stuck?” He turned back towards her. If he was losing his mind, he should at least lean into it.

“Stuck, right. It's just a theory, but I’ve had quite a lot of time to think about it. You see, I remember the accident. Two months ago, I was on the fire escape looking at the stars and I noticed a kitten on the ledge above me. He was helpless, so I thought I’d take him inside. As I reached up to grab him, I lost my footing and fell down into the alley. Once I hit the ground, everything faded to black. I remember falling, but I don’t remember dying.”

Ben sat back down on the couch, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to wrap his mind around what was happening. “Who would remember dying? It’s death, not a graduation. Fading to black was probably you dying, Rey.”

“I thought so too, at first. After the fall, after everything went dark, I woke up here. For the first few hours, I thought it had just been a dream. But, then, I walked outside and realized nobody could see me or hear me. I went to the middle of a park and screamed as loudly as possible. Nothing. Everyone just kept living. At that point, I was convinced I was a ghost. There was no Handbook for the Recently Deceased laying around for me, so I went to the cemetery to see if I could find another ghost to help explain things.”

“Logical.” Ben had his head buried in his hands and he was rocking back and forth slightly.

“Thank you. The cemetery was...pardon the pun...a ghost town. No ghosts to be seen. Just grass, tombstones, and flowers. That’s when I began to wonder if maybe, I was just in some kind of limbo. Not quite alive, not quite dead. I came back home and decided to stay here until I could figure out why I’m stuck and how to get myself unstuck. That lasted for about a month before you showed up.”

Ben looked up at her finally. “And when did you start watching me shower?”

Her cheeks went a bit pink. “I tried to freak you out the first few days so you would leave, but you barely noticed. I’d move your beer from one end of the table to the other and you wouldn’t even blink! You were walking around here in a haze and seemed more dead than me.”

“Yeah, well, I’m going through a bad breakup.” Ben’s lips pushed into a little pout.

“My condolences. So, after a few days of not getting your attention, I gave up. Figured I should make the best out of my situation and start coexisting with you. I’d watch shows with you and help you cook. You’re terrible about turning the burners off, by the way. I saved this place from catching on fire more than once. Then, one day, I accidentally walked in on you taking a shower.” Her eyes were avoiding him now and she was twirling her bracelet nervously. “Is it possible to die _again_ from embarrassment?”

Ben realized he wanted her to keep talking about watching him. It had been so long since he’d felt wanted, desired. “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s flattering in a weird, peeping Tom sort of way.” He gave her a small smile when her eyes shot up to meet his in surprise. “When did it become a habit?”

“After the first time, I couldn’t get the image of your body out of my head. You looked like you were cut from marble. I was used to being invisible around you and it made me feel...bold. It seemed innocent enough to sneak a peek every once in a while. I never imagined that...” Her tongue swept across her bottom lip. Ben could tell she was uncomfortable admitting all of this to him. “...that you and I would be face-to-face one day.”

God, she was adorable. Ben could feel the heat pooling into his lap as she spoke about wanting to see him. _All of him_. His better judgement told him to stop, call every priest in the city, and remove this angel from his life, but Ben was never good at listening to his better judgement.

“What about last night, Rey? I could sense you watching me. How did you feel about seeing that?” His voice had gone deeper and he was sitting much closer to her than before.

Rey’s eyes darkened and her lips trembled. “I came into the bedroom to see if you had left the window open again. You’ll let bugs in if you leave it open all night. That’s when I saw you and I…”

Ben’s hand brushed a piece of hair behind her ear and lingered there, softly rubbing the sensitive skin of her neck. She felt real enough. If he had lost his mind, he was thanking his lucky stars his subconscious had conjured her.  “You what, Rey?”

She swallowed and leaned closer to him, their bodies practically flush against each other on the couch. “I needed to see you finish. You looked so lost in pleasure, it was overwhelming. I wanted to see what it looked like when you went over the edge. Just once.”

Ben hummed as he replaced his hand with his lips and nuzzled into her neck. He felt her shudder and her hand gripped the fabric against his chest. “You didn’t get a chance to see that, did you, Rey?” When he felt the soft shake of her head, he continued. “Would you like to?”

Rey turned her head so that their lips could meet. Her lips were so soft and the small moan that escaped her caused his cock to twitch. When she slowly pulled away, Ben could feel a small fizzy sensation in his mouth like he had just eaten a bag of Pop Rocks.

“Yes,” she whispered before joining their lips again. Ben leaned back against the pillow cushions, draping Rey across his chest. He wove his hand into her hair, feeling the silky strands loop around his fingers. Her tongue hesitantly swept across the seam of his mouth, begging for entrance. With a growl, he opened his lips and let her explore.

Ben other hand moved down from her side to the round curve of her ass, giving a light squeeze. She whimpered and leaned back to look him in the eye. “Sit up. Shirt off.” He gently pushed her off of him so he could comply. Pulling his shirt over his head, Ben had a brief moment of blindness. Once the shirt was gone and thrown across the room, he saw Rey had moved. She had slid down off the couch to kneel between his knees. Rey ran her hands up his chest and across his shoulders as she stared at his bared torso.

“I wanted to touch you like this so badly. When you couldn’t see me, I envied the water that got to be on your skin.” She began to kiss his neck as her hands whispered down his abdomen towards his belt. Ben’s hips pushed forward slightly and she unbuckled and unzipped his pants. Her mouth traveled a similar path as her hands until she was kissing underneath his bellybutton.

“Rey…” Ben’s brows were knit together as he was overwhelmed with the sensation.

“Shhh, let me take care of you, Ben. It’s been so long since someone’s seen me. I want you to watch me make you come.” Her fingers curled into the sides of his jeans and boxers. She tugged them down slowly until his erection was exposed to her hungry eyes. Rey licked her lips as she took him in her hand. Ben hissed from the sudden pleasure and closed his eyes.

“Eyes open, Ben.” Her mouth was so close to him, but she wasn’t going to move until he did exactly what she commanded. Ben opened his eyes and looked down at her desperately. “Good boy,” she whispered before wrapping her lips around the rosy head.

“Shit, Rey.” His whole body tensed as she hummed in response. The moan in the back of her throat causing vibrations to surround his cock. Rey swirled her tongue around the head before pushing herself further down his length.

Ben gathered her hair in his hand so he could see her face as she pleasured him. Rey’s cheeks were flushed and her mouth was glistening. Her eyes slowly moved up to meet his and Ben almost came undone. _Fuck, she was beautiful._ She continued to work her mouth up and down his shaft until he was a mess, unable to speak. All he could manage were small noises of encouragement.

Rey began to suck harder and faster, her saliva dripping down the underside of his cock and her chin. Ben’s noises became louder and more desperate. “Rey, I’m-I’m going to…” She nodded and continued to take him deep into her mouth as she reached up to massage his balls. The pressure began to grow in his lower back. Rey gave him another loud moan as she watched him reach his breaking point. With a loud groan, he felt himself spilling inside her mouth. She released his cock from her lips with a pop. With a contented smile, Rey swallowed.

“Mmmm, you’re gorgeous when you come, Ben. I’m glad I finally got to see it.”

As Ben’s breathing began to settle, he pulled Rey up to lay across his chest. He stroked her hair and peppered her face with kisses. “We need to figure out a way to get you unstuck.”

* * *

_One week later…_

Ben came bursting through the front door of the apartment.

“Rey? Rey! Where are you?” He looked around the living room, but didn’t see her. Maybe she was still in bed. Ben had decided to wake her up with his mouth on her pussy and managed to string two orgasms from her this morning. They had been finding increasingly creative ways to make each other come without full-on sex. Rey had voiced some concerns about having sex in her ghostly state. Something about not wanting to cause a ‘Rosemary’s Baby scenario.’ Ben had never seen that movie, so he took her word for it.

One night, as they were laying naked in bed after a valiant attempt at 69’ing, it hit Ben. _Not quite alive, not quite dead._ He had shot out of bed and began searching online for a list of local hospitals. When he wasn’t at work or fooling around with Rey, he was calling hospitals asking if they had admitted any unidentified patients that matched Rey’s description.

Rey walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. “Ben, I was taking a shower. What is it?”

“Rey, I got a lead. I heard back from St. John’s. We need to go now, though, visiting hours are over in an hour.” He pushed her towards the bedroom so she could get dressed.

The care ride to the hospital was quiet. Rey nervously chewed her fingernails and looked out the window. Ben glanced her way every once in a while, trying to figure out what she was thinking about. “Rey, do you want to talk about it,” he asked her softly.

“What if it’s not me? What if this is our last hope and it ends up not being me. I might be stuck like this forever,” Rey whispered. Ben reached out his free hand to rest it against her knee.

“Then, you’ll be stuck with me. To be honest, I kind of prefer having a girlfriend that I can’t take home to my mother.” He gave her a reassuring smile.

Her lips gave a little twitch and almost smiled. “Girlfriend?”

“I mean, a few of the things we’ve done to each other in that apartment are illegal in some countries. We’re well past being just friends, don’t you think?”

This time, Rey did smile. “I like the sound of that.”

Ben pulled the car into the hospital parking garage and they made their way through the front doors. Rey wanted to hold Ben’s hand but, to the people around them, it would look like Ben was just walking around making a fist. Not the best look for a 6’2” man in a place of healing. She stood as close to him as possible when they arrived at the front desk. A tired, but sweet-looking nurse smiled at Ben. “Hi, can I help you?”

“Hi, my name is Ben Solo, I called in earlier. My fiance has been missing for over 3 months and she doesn’t have any family besides me, I’ve been trying to find her. I was told you have a Jane Doe patient that matched her description. I was hoping I could go see if I could identify her.”

The nurse frowned slightly and looked down at the sticky notes that littered the phone. “Ah, yes, Mr. Solo. Looks like you spoke with someone from the previous shift. Our Jane Doe is in room 226, but I can’t let you visit her unattended.  I’ll have to escort you.”

Ben smiled and his hand reached out to grab Rey’s before he remembered himself. She lightly rubbed his arm. “That’s fine. Lead the way,” he said.

They walked down the long, white hallway until they reached the room. The nurse opened the door and stepped in first. Ben gave Rey a quick, sideways glance and let her walk in before him. This was her moment of truth. Her heart began to race as she placed on foot in front of the other through the door. Gently, the nurse pulled back the blue privacy curtain to reveal a bed occupied by wired and tubes that wound around each other like snakes before leading to beeping machines. Buried underneath was a body. Rey stepped closer to the bed. She felt Ben walk up right behind her. He placed his hand on top of hers where it rested on the on the blankets.

The nurse looked expectantly at Ben, “Well? Is this your fiance?”

Ben was looking at Rey as she realized she was looking at herself. Tears filled her eyes.

“Yes, that’s my Rey,” Ben whispered. He turned to the nurse. “Thank you. Can we..I mean, can I have a couple minutes alone with her? It’s been 3 months and I have some apologies to make to her, ones I’d like to make without an audience. Pelase?”

The nurse bit her lip and said, “I’m really not supposed to until you bring some type of identification for her, but...Okay, I’ll give you 5 minutes before I come back in here. I’m glad you found her, Mr. Solo.”

Ben watched Rey still staring at herself laying in the bed. “I’m glad I found her, too.”

The door closed behind the nurse and Ben took Rey’s hand again. “It’s time, Rey. It’s time to get unstuck.” That made Rey finally tear her gaze away from her sleeping form

“Ben, what if I wake up and I don’t remember you?” Her eyes were filled with worry.

His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, exposing that he was worried about the same thing.

“If that happens, then at least I know all of your erogenous zones so I can seduce you again in record time.”

Rey gave him a pity laugh and touched his cheek. “Well, just in case, I want to say thank you for everything.” She turned back to her sleeping body and picked up her limp hand. Rey took in a deep breath and as she exhaled, Ben saw her begin to fade from his vision. He walked over to Rey in the bed and took her hand in his own.

“Come on, Rey. Please come back to me. Who is going to remind me to turn off the burners and close the windows at night, huh? Only you.” Ben saw her eyelashes flutter. “Please, baby. Open your eyes for me.”

Rey’s eyelids twitched until Ben could see a hint of green. He sighed brought her hand to his lips. “Thank you, sweetheart. Rey, can you hear me? Do you remember?”

Her eyes stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, her lips formed a weak smile. “Long time no see, Ben.”

* * *

Amilyn was organizing a tarot card deck display when she heard the bell on the store’s front door jingle. She turned around just as a delivery man walked into the entryway. He was holding a long, flat box.

“Delivery for Amilyn Holdo,” he said.

“That’s me.” Amilyn signed for the package and thanked the man as he handed it over to her. She walked it to the register and began to tear open the sides. A smile spread across her face has she pulled out the all-too-familiar Ouija board box. Taped to the lid, was an envelope. She tore it open and read the small note enclosed inside:

_Amilyn,_

_Thank you for letting me “borrow” your Ouija board. I took care of that ghost in my apartment. You were right. Asking nicely really did the trick._

_Best,_

_Ben_

 

 


End file.
